Dodge Development driver Chase Miller was not sure what to expect as he headed into the inaugural John Deere 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday. Before Wednesday of this week he had never seen Talladega Superspeedway and had no superspeedway experience on his resume. But just like he has in the past few weeks Miller proved his lack of experience was no reflection of his ability behind the wheel of the No. 4 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Ram. Miller qualified in the 13th position for the 19th race of the 2006 season. By lap five Miller had worked his way into the fifth position, but did not stay there long. On lap 10 Miller began to drop to the back of the pack with teammates Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Scott Lagasse Jr. The trio stayed in the back for most of the race in an attempt to avoid the big wreck. With 30 laps left to go in the race Miller made his way towards the front of the pack. Racing three-wide for the final laps Miller crossed the finish line in 21st position.
      

No. 4 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Talladega Race Recap

• Miller qualified in the 13th position on Friday afternoon for the inaugural John Deere 250.
• By lap five Miller was running in the fifth position. Five laps later Miller made his way to the back of the pack with teammates Hamilton Jr. and Lagasse Jr.
• On lap 24 the first caution waved for debris. Miller came down pit road to the attention of his No. 4 Dodge Motorsports Racing Team. They changed all four tires and added fuel. He restarted in the 27th position.
• The second caution waved several laps later. Crew Chief Marcus Richmond called Miller down pit road for fuel only. “It sure is a lot of fun out there,” Miller told his crew during the pit stop. He restarted in the 30th position on lap 36.
• It only took seven laps for the third caution to wave on lap 44. Richmond called Miller down pit road for four tires and fuel under the caution. He restarted in the 25th position. “I am really just riding around out here,” said Miller before the restart. “I am kind of bored.”
• Miller, along with teammate Hamilton Jr., pitted again under the fourth caution on lap 58 for fuel only and came back down pit road on lap 60 to top off. He restarted in the 27th position.
• “Bobby Jr. is going to wait about five laps and then make his way to the front,” said Richmond before the restart. “You follow him to the front.” Miller did just that following every move Hamilton Jr. made. The two raced three and four wide towards the front before a wreck on the last lap caused total chaos.     
• On the last lap Mike Skinner spun the second place truck of Mike Wallace, triggering a multi-truck incident that took out Wallace, Derrick Cope, David Starr, and Dennis Setzer. Miller had to back off to miss the wreck loosing several positions in the process. That incident forced the race to end under the caution and Miller finished 21st.

 “My main goal today was to finish the race in one piece,” said Miller climbing from his truck after the race. “I gained a lot of experience. I hate it had to end under caution because I know we would have finished a lot better. The truck was great all day and the team had great pit stops. It was a lot of fun out there. I hope the fans enjoyed it has much as I did.”

Mark Martin won the inaugural John Deere 250 before an estimated crowd of 80,000, posting his sixth NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the season. Mike Skinner, Ted Musgrave, Todd Bodine and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top five.